The field of the invention is bicycle seats and the invention relates more particularly to an ergonomic bicycle seat for serious bicycle riders who often ride for hours at a time. The discomfort and numbness caused by bicycle seats has been widely discussed in the prior art. Many improvements have recently been made to help alleviate various areas of discomfort and detailed anatomical discussions are provided setting forth benefits of various modifications. One such discussion is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,059, which is incorporated by reference herein for background purposes. Additional discussion is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,395, which is also incorporated by reference herein for background purposes. Most of the recent seat designs have concentrated on removing weight along the perineal opening of the cyclist""s pelvic bone. The purpose is to reduce compression on the pudendal arteries and nerves while not interfering with movement of the cyclist""s legs in the pedaling motion.
It has been found that substantial additional comfort can be accomplished by providing an opening at the nose portion of the seat which results in a right side nose portion separated by a gap of at least 1xc2xd inches from the left side nose portion.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bicycle seat for serious bicycle riders which provides further comfort in the nose area of the seat.
The present invention is for a bicycle seat comprising a base, including means for attaching the seat to a bicycle. A right side portion is held to the base and has a right side nose portion, a right side intermediate portion, and a right side rear portion. The right side nose portion includes a right side nose upper surface, a right side nose outer surface curved downwardly from said right side nose upper surface, and a right side nose inner surface curved downwardly from said right side nose upper surface. The right side nose outer and inner side surfaces terminate at a front edge. Similarly, a left side portion is also held to the base and has a left side nose portion, a left side intermediate portion, and a left side rear portion. The left side nose portion includes a left side nose upper surface, a left side nose outer surface curved downwardly from the left side nose upper surface, and a left side nose inner side surface curved downwardly from the left side nose upper surface. The left side nose outer side surface and the left side nose inner side surface terminate at a left side front edge and the right nose inner side surface and the left side nose inner side surface are separated a distance of at least 1 inches. Preferably, the distance between the right and left side nose portions is adjustable to optimize the comfort of an individual rider. A preferred adjustment is by way of a ball and detent so that the rider can adjust the separation distance easily while riding. Also preferably, the right and left nose portions are pivotally attached to the base in the intermediate area so that the rear portions of the seat are unaffected by the adjustment of the nose portions.